HOUSE’S PROCESS COMES UNDER SCRUTINY
ON AN ALL-NEW “HOUSE”
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, ON FOX

Jeffrey Wright ("Casino Royale") Guest-Stars

Episode Directed by Executive Producer Greg Yaitanes
Marking His 30th Episode as Director of Series

When a violent incident involving a patient has serious consequences for one staff member, House and the team are placed under review by Dr. Walter Cofield (guest star Jeffrey Wright), Foreman's former mentor and current Chief of Neurology. As House and each member of his team recount the details of the dramatic and life-threatening incident, Cofield must weigh the team’s unconventional brand of collaboration against their ability to save lives in the all-new "Nobody's Fault" episode of HOUSE, airing Monday, Feb. 6 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (HOU-811) (TV-14 D, L, V)

Timeline

February 3 to February 4, 2012

Patients of the Week

Bill, a high school chemistry teacher who collapses when out on a job and is unconscious and paralyzed.

Chase:

How House gets involved:

Foreman asks for his help.

The privacy invasion / ethical breach / Rule Breaking

Preliminary diagnoses:

Bill. The team doesn't have a good diagnosis but House starts him on steroids. Bill wakes up from his coma. When two of his students, they mention a lab explosion. House thinks there are problems with the lungs because chemicals inhaled during the explosion and he wants to us House wants to use aerosolized Heparin although it has only been used on sheep. Then the team notice that Bill has a rash. Chase decides to biopsy against House's orders. Bill has already had a psychotic episode and the sight of the needle sends him into another one and with the altercation that occurs, Chase is stabbed with the scalpel he brought in to do the biopsy.

Chase: he is stabbed and the scalpel reached his heart. Adams patches the hole left with the tip of her little finger until they get him to surgery. When he wakes up her cannot feel his legs. It could be something permanent but House comes up with a fixable diagnosis.

The final diagnosis

Bill: tumor lysis syndrome (he had a tumor, although he didn't know it, and the explosion caused the tumor to break apart and get throughout his bloodstream.

Chase: House suggests the paralysis is due to a clot of a radicular artery. They find the clot and remove it and later Chase shows the ability to move his toes.

Who Came up with final diagnosis

Bill: House, getting the idea from a pranks Chase had rigged to make his vicodin bottle shoot out confetti.

Chase: House, although he admits that they caused the psychosis which is what Park had been saying.

Clinic Patients

None

Additional Information:

Chase is badly injured and will probably take some time to recover psychologically and physically.

Dr. Adams tells Dr. Cofield, who is investigating the incident that injures Chase, "House prefers chaos over cohesion. He believes that disagreements and mistrust lead to better ideas. He's not wrong."
"As opposed to being right?"

House takes some Vicodin while being interviewed by Dr. Cofield. "Uhh --- Yes." He pauses. "And during about nine years of previous cases." Another pause. "My process is proven: good things usually happen, bad things sometimes happen."
"And when bad things happen, we should figure out what went wrong so we can learn from it and correct it."
"So we can assign blame instead of recognizing that bad things sometimes happen, It was nobody's fault."

Taub admits that he took the patient history from the patient's wife. Dr. Colfield asks, "Does Dr. House not attach importance to patient histories?"
"No. He thinks they're crucial. He just doesn't think that being in the same room as the patient is crucial. House things avoiding patients allows him to stay as objective as possible. He's not wrong."

Although Foreman is not supposed to be part of the investigation, it turns out that he ignored Park's concerns when she brought them to him and Dr. Colfield warns him, "If signing off on everything House does is a pattern, it affects the way House behaves. It affects how House's team reacts to the way House behaves."
"House is brilliant. I give him the benefit of the doubt most of the time because I've seen what he can do."

Early on in the case House pays a prank on Chase and pranks go back and forth. When Chase is conscious after his surgery Dr. Cofield asks him who he thinks is to blame. "I don't think it was anyone's fault. I was angry but I wasn't distracted. And I think that if there is any chance that I am going to walk again. It's because Dr. House is a genius."

When they gather to hear the results of the investigation, Dr. Cofield starts off looking as if he is going to assign blame to House. "This case is a fiasco.... Dr. House is also a fiasco.... Dr. House's process is dangerously inappropriate."

House goes to Chase who is in the middle of physical therapy to tell him the result of the investigation. "They've established that you being stabbed was nobody's fault." He pauses. "They're wrong. I'm sorry."
"Anything else? I'm kinda busy."
"No. That was it."